Action toy



W. P. DOE ETAL ACTION TOY Filed Feb. 14, 1958 Oct. 20, 1959 UnitedStates Patent F ACTION TOY Walter P. Doe and Leslie W. Sly, East Aurora,N .Y., assignors to Fisher-Price Toys, Inc., East Aurora, N.Y.

Application February 14, 1958, Serial No. 115,436

8 Claims. (Cl. 46-113) This invention relates generally to the amusementdevice art, and more specifically to a new and useful action toyparticularly designed to entertain and amuse very young children.

' A primary object of this invention is to provide. an action toy havingair actuated sound producing means, telescopically related partscomprising an air pump, and figure simulating body parts movablerelative to one another, together with means moving one body partrelative to the other to operate the pump and thereby actuate the soundproducing means as the toy is moved along a supporting surface.

Another object of this invention is to provide an action toy fancifullysimulating a steam locomotive and having boiler simulating, telescopictube parts, together with means for pumping one tube part relative tothe other as the toy is moved along a supporting surface and whistleproducing means operated by pumping the tube parts.

Still another object of this invention is to provide the foregoing in atoy which is relatively simple and inexpensive in construction, andwhich is extremely durable in operation and safe for use by the veryyoung.

, In one aspect thereof, one embodiment of an action toy constructed inaccord with our invention is characterized by the provision of two bodymembers each carrying wheels for rolling movement along a supportingsurface and each carrying a tubular part, the tubular parts beingarranged in telescopic relation with air actuated sound producing meansadjacent one end of the assembled tubes, together with link meansconnected adjacent one end to one body member and operatively connectedadjacent its other end to the wheel means of the other body part ineccentric relation to the axis of rotation thereof, thereby toreciprocate one body part relative to the other and cause saidtelescopic tubes to actuate the sound producing means as the toy isrolled along a supporting surface.

' tube 10 resting in a concave recess in the upper face of The foregoingand other objects, advantages and characterizing features of an actiontoy constructed in accord with our invention will become clearlyapparent from the ensuing detailed description of a presently preferredembodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingillustrating said embodiment wherein like reference numerals denote likeparts throughout the various views and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one form of action toy constructed inaccord with our invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, horizontal sectional view thereof taken abouton line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring now in detail to the accompanying drawing, a presentlypreferred form of action toy constructed in accord with our invention isadapted to simulate, in caricature, a steam locomotive, and comprises afirst body member 1 which can simulate a locomotive cab, having a roof 2secured thereto as by pins 2', and a second body member 3 simulating alocomotive truck, to which the usual pull string member 4 is attached.Body members Patented Oct. 20, 1959 1 and 3 carry axles 5 and 6,respectively, which can extend through transverse openings in therespective body parts and which carry paired wheels 7 and 8,respectively, adjacent the opposite ends thereof, the body members 1 and3 being arranged for movement toward and away from each other.

Body members 1 and 3 also carry boiler simulating tube parts 9 and 10,respectively, the tube 9 being secured for example in a correspondingrecess formed in the front face of body member 1, as by means ofpins 11,and the body member 3 and secured therein as by a long pin 12 extendingthrough tube 10 and body member3 from the bottom of the latter. Pin 12also can secure a smoke stack simulating member 13 to the boilersimulating tube 10', adjacent the forward end thereof. a

Tubes 9 and 10 are open at their outer and inner ends, respectively, andthese ends are arranged in telescopic relation with tube 9 slidingwithin tube 10 in the illustrated embodiment. The rearward, inner end oftube 9 is closed by body member 1, and the forward, outer end of tube 10is closed by an air actuated, whistle producing mechanism generallyindicated at 14.

As indicated in Fig. 3, whistle mechanism 14 comprises two wall members15 and 16 having their central portions spaced apart lengthwise of tube10 and formed with aligned apertures 17 and 18, respectively, therein.Apertures 17 and 18 are designed so that when air is either pushed orpulled therethrough, a whistle is produced the tone and sharpness ofwhich vary with the abruptness of the air flow through the apertures. Itis a feature of our invention that air is caused to pass through thewhistle openings 17, 18 by alternately telescoping and expanding theassembled tubes 9 and 10 which comprise an air pump for this purpose,and this pumping action is produced by reciprocatingone of the body tothe other thereof. 1 V

This reciprocating action is produced by means of an eccentric drive,comprising in the illustrated embodiment connecting rods 19 on oppositesides of the toy. Rods 19 are operatively connected adjacent one endthereof to body member 3, as by means of loop formations 20 thereonloosely engaging about axle 6. At' theirother ends rods 19 areeccentrically pivoted on wheels 7 of body member 1, as by means of pins21 loosely engaging loop formations 22 at that end of the rods 19.Because of the eccentric pivot of rods 19 on Wheels 7, as the toy ispulled along a supporting surface 23 (Fig. 2) rotation of wheels 7causes the connecting rods 19 to alternately push body member 3 awayfrom body member 1 and pull body member 3 toward body member 1, therebytranslating rotation of wheels 7 into reciprocation of body member 3relative to body member 1 and causing tube 10 to recipro cate relativeto tube 9. This alternate telescoping and expanding of the air pumpcomprising tubes 9 and 10 members 1, 3 relative alternately expels aircontained therein through thealigned apertures 17 and 18, and draws airinwardly therethrough, to produce a whistling sound with each stroke. Inother words, reciprocation of one body part relative to the otherproduces a pumping action of the tubes 9 and 10, which in turn producesa whistle with each pump stroke. Further, the nature of the mechanism issuch that the faster the toy is pulled the sharper the whistle becomes,because air is moved through the apertures with greater force andabruptness. A child usually pulls and/or pushes such a toy at widelyvarying speeds, whereby the ensuing whistle produced by the toy varieswidely in tone and sharpness. Of course, this mechanism operates equallywell whether the toy is moved backwards or forwards.

Another feature of our invention resides in the mounting of the whistlemechanism 14. While such whistle pro 3 ducing mechanisms generally areWell known and old in the art, the particular anchoring arrangementthereof in tube part is believed to be novel and is a matter ofconsiderable practical significance.

Each wall member 15, 16 is provided withaskirt portion 25, 26,respectively, the latter nesting in the former and both of themslip-fitting into the outer end of tube 10 in close fitting, relativelysnug engagement with the inner wall thereof. Skirt portion 25 terminatesin an outturned rim or flange 27 which overlies and bears against theouter edge of tube 10, and to securely fasten the whistle mechanism 13in this position the skirt portion 26 of the outermost wall member 16terminates in a reverse bent, rolled edge portion 28 extending over andaround the outer edge of the tube, to overlie and bite into the outerwall surface thereof. This provides a structure which is readilyassembled in tube 10, which reinforces the outer-end of tube 10, whichin combination with tube 10 is durable and long lasting in operation,and which has the further-advantage of generally simulating the forwardend of a steam locomotive.

To provide better friction between drive wheels 7 and the supportingsurface 23, grooved or serrated rings 24 of rubber or other frictionproducing material can be carried in peripheral grooves onthe wheels 7,and it will be appreciated that the various cab, roof, boiler, truck andsmokestack simulating members and parts, in addition to having anappropriate outline configuration, can be painted or carry decorativelithographs or other appropriate surface ornamentation to simulate, incaricature, a steam locomotive.

Therefore, while we have illustrated only one presently preferredembodiment of our invention, we have done so only by way of-illustrationand without thought of limitation. Instead, we recognize thatmodifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in theart without departing from the'spirit of our invention, and we intendthat they be included within the scope of the appended claims,

Obviously, while the tubes 9 and 10 are shown therein as being hollowcylinders, they need not necessarily be of circular cross sectionalconfiguration and could be tubes having a rectangulanoval, or any otherdesired cross sectional configuration. Also, connecting rods 19 could beconnected directly to body part 3, or to some part connected theretoother than axle 6, and instead of being connected at their other end towheels 7 the connecting links could be operatively connected theretothrough other means such as for example a crank portion on axle 5.However, it is believed that the connecting link arrangement illustratedin the drawing is the more intriguing, because it simulates the driverods on a steam locomotive, and it will be noted that the opposite endsof each link or rod are laterally offset to accommodate the width of thewheels 7 and Son opposite sides thereof.

Having fully disclosed and completely described our invention in apresently preferred, illustrative embodiment thereof, together with themode of operation thereof, what we claim as new is:

1. An action toy comprising, first and second body members at least oneof which is movable toward and away from the other thereof, axle meanscarried by each of said body members, wheel means carried by each ofsaid axle means for rolling said toy along a supporting surface,telescopic tubular parts carried one by said first body member and theother by said second body member for movement therewith, the telescopingends of said tubular parts being open and one of said parts beingsubstantially closed at its other end, the other end of the other ofsaid parts being closed by sound producing means providing air ventpassage means therethrough, whereby telescoping of said parts actuatessaid sound producing means, and link means operatively connectedadjacent one end thereof to one body member and adjacent the oppositeend thereof to one of the wheel and axle means of the other body memberin eccentric relation to the of rotation of the wheel means thereof,whereby at least one body member is caused to reciprocate relative tothe other thereof to alternately telescope and expand said tubular partsas said toy is rolled along a supporting surface.

2. An action toy comprising, first and second body assemblies, each ofsaid body assemblies having a body member, wheel means for rollingmovement along a supporting surface and a tube part open at one end andsubstantially closed adjacent the other end thereof, the other end ofone of said tube parts being closed by air actuated sound producingmeans providing an air passage therethrough, the open ends of said tubeparts being assembled in telescoping relation and at least one of saidbody assemblies being movable toward and away from the other thereof toalternately telescope and expand said tube parts, and connecting linkmeans operatively connected adjacent one end thereof to one of said bodyassemblies and adjacent the opposite end thereof to the wheel means ofthe other of said body assemblies in eccentric relation to the axis ofrotation thereof, whereby said one body assembly is reciproeatedrelative to the other thereof as said toy is rolled along a supportingsurface.

3. An action toy comprising, first and second body assemblies eachhaving wheel means for rolling movement along a supporting surface and atube part open at one end-thereof, one of said tube parts beingsubstantially closed at the other end thereof and the other end of theother of said tube parts being closed by air actuated sound producingmeans providing an air passage therethrough, said tube parts beingassembled-with the open ends thereof in telescopic relation and at leastone of said body assemblies being movable toward and away from the otherthereof to alternately telescope and expand said assembled tube parts,said sound producing means being actuated by movement of air throughsaid passage in either direction, and link means operatively connectedadjacent one end to said one body assembly, said link means beingoperatively connected adjacent the other end thereof to the wheel meansof the other body assembly in eccentric relation to the axis of rotationthereof, whereby said one body assembly is reciprocated relative to saidother body assembly as said toy is rolled along a supporting surface.

4. An action toy as set forth in claim 3, wherein said sound producingmeans comprise first and second wall members spanning said other end ofsaid other tube part, each of said wall members having a skirt portionand said wall members being assembled in said other end of said othertube part with the skirt portion of the outermost wall member nesting inthe skirt portion of the innermost wall member, said innermost wallmember skirt portion closely fitting the inner wall of said other tubepart and terminating in an outturned flange portion overlying the outeredge of said other tube part and bearing thereagainst, and saidoutermost wall member skirt portion terminating in a reverse bentportion extending around said outer edge of said other tube and alongthe outer side wall thereof to secure said assembled wali members inplace therein, said wall members having portions spaced apart lengthwiseof said tube parts and formed with alined aper tures therein.

5. A steam locomotive simulating action toy compris ing, first bodymeans simulating alocornotive cab, a first tube part projectingforwardly from said first body means, second body means simulating alocomotive truck, anecond tube part carried by said second body meansand ,projecting rearwardly therefrom, one of said first and second tubeparts extending into the other thereof in telescopic relation thereto,said other tube part simulating a locomotive boiler, the rearward end ofsaid first tube part being closed, and the forward end of said second.tube part carrying whistle producing means actuated by passage of airtherethrough, axle means carried by each-of said body means, pairedwheels carried by each of said axle means, and connecting rods onopposite sides of said toy, each of said connecting rods being pivotallyconnected adjacent one end thereof to the axle means of said second bodymeans and being pivotally connected adjacent the opposite end thereof tothe wheel means of said first body means in eccentric relation to theaxis of rotation thereof.

6. An action toy comprising, first and second body assemblies at leastone of which is movable toward and away from the other thereof and bothof which are movable along a supporting surface, first and second tubeparts carried by said body assemblies in telescopic relation to eachother to comprise an air pump operated by movement of said one bodyassembly toward and away from the other thereof, air actuated soundproducing means operatively associated with said air pump for beingactuated thereby, and means including eccentric drive rod meansinterconnecting said body assemblies for translating movement thereofalong a supporting surface into reciprocation of said one body assemblyrelative to the other thereof.

7. An action toy comprising, first and second figure simulating bodyassemblies at least one of which is movable toward and away from theother thereof, means including Wheel means mounted on the other of saidfirst and second body assemblies for rolling said toy along a supportingsurface, said first and second body assemblies including paired tubemeans in telescopic relation to each other comprising an air pumpoperated by such movement of said one body assembly in at least onedirection relative to the other thereof, air actuated sound producingmeans operatively associated with said air pump for being actuatedthereby, and means including eccentric link means interconnecting saidfirst and second body assemblies for translating rotation of said wheelmeans into movement of said one body assembly relative to the otherthereof to actuate said sound producing means as said toy is rolledalong a supporting surface.

8. An action toy comprising, first and second figure simulating bodymeans movable relative to each other, means including wheel meansmounted on at least one of said first and second body means for rollingsaid toy along a supporting surface, telescopically related tube partsone of which is carried by said one of said body means and the other ofwhich is movable relative thereto by the other of said body means, saidtube parts thereby comprising an air pump operated by movement of saidother body means relative to said one body means, air actuated soundproducing means operatively associated with said air pump for beingactuated thereby, and means including eccentric link meansinterconnecting said first and second body means for translatingrotation of said wheel means into movement of said other body meansrelative to said one body means as said toy is rolled along a supportingsurface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS281,360 Hall July 17, 1883 941,311 Cotton Nov. 23, 1904 1,183,232Proctor May 16, 1916 1,599,736 Wright Sept. 14, 1926 2,641,865 GowlandJune 16, 1953

